The Yoruba of Nigeria

The Yoruba of Nigeria, numbering approximately 48,890,000 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a West African ethnic group indigenous to Yorubaland, an are that spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. They mostly adhere to Neo-Pentecostalism and Yoruba is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Yoruba

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Yoruba
Primary Language(s): Yoruba (yor)
Primary Religion(s): Neo-Pentecostalism
Population: 48,890,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 2% or Greater but Less than 5% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG014193
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Yoruba of Nigeria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Neo-Pentecostalism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

60%
%
Neo-Pentecostalism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Yoruba
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Yoruba Speakers

Media Resources in Yoruba:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Yoruba:

3 entries

Or check out the Yoruba bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Yoruba are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Yoruba:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Yoruba of Nigeria

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
readPsalm 20:7

Pray for those who trust in anything other than the Lord to be convicted of their sin and learn about what Jesus did for them so that they can choose to trust in Him.

And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
readLuke 2:17

Pray that the lost will receive the good news of salvation in God's Son, have hearts eager to share it with others, and that all who hear will respond with wonder and faith!

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
readPsalm 119:9

Pray that as young men place their faith in Jesus, they will walk in purity and live according to God's Word.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
readJohn 1:9-10

Pray for those God might send to share the gospel here. Ask that they will grow closer to Jesus and be compelled to share His good news with people who don't know it.

Yoruba Across Countries (ROP3 - 111095) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

11 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
YorubaYorubaUnited States152,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion
YorubaYorubaTogo144,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaSierra Leone7,400No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaYorubaNigeria48,890,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaNiger90,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaGhana531,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaEquatorial Guinea130,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaProtestantism
YorubaYorubaCote d’Ivoire150,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaCanada10,500No Longer UnreachedYorubaNeo-Pentecostalism
YorubaYorubaBurkina Faso85,000No Longer UnreachedYorubaFolk Islam
YorubaYorubaBenin265,000Engaged yet UnreachedYorubaAfrican Traditional Religion

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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